Milestones
by Entilzadelenn
Summary: Harry's last stay at Privet Drive, and of course, it's far from pleasant. An intro to book 7.


_A/N: This was originally an entry for Mugglenet's 'write the intro to book 7' contest. The contest stipulated a maximum word count of 1000, which is why this is so short. Hope you enjoy! As always, feedback/constructive criticism is always appreciated._

It was the middle of the night and, at number four, Privet Drive, someone was screaming. Harry Potter sat up in a cold sweat. His heart was hammering, and his breathing was ragged. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since Dumbledore died, constantly waking from nightmares. Harry reached over to his nightstand, grabbing his glasses and the locket that was a fake Horcrux. Quietly, he unlatched his door, and then tiptoed down the stairs and out the front door. He left the front door slightly ajar behind him, so he wouldn't have to make any noise closing it and then reopening it again.

The night was clear, and the air was cool and crisp, but Harry didn't mind. It helped him to clear his head. He sat down on the front stoop, and as his thoughts swirled, he kept the locket between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing it in a repetitive pattern. He knew that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again for awhile, despite how tired he was. So he turned his mind to the task of finding the Horcruxes. It was all that propelled him now. It was his purpose in life, his task to complete... and he knew he couldn't rest, couldn't move on with his life, until Voldemort had finally been dealt with, once and for all.

The problem was that Harry didn't have any idea where to begin. He knew getting at the snake would be difficult. Dumbledore had said that Voldemort liked to keep her close to him, so Harry didn't think it would be advisable to go after her until he was ready to face Voldemort. That left the locket, the cup, and something of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw's. And without Dumbledore, he didn't have a clue as to where those objects might be. The locket was especially troublesome. Whoever R.A.B. was, he had taken it, and his note said that he intended to destroy it as soon as he was able. But had he been able to destroy it? And if not, where was it?

Harry was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the stairs inside creaking with the weight of someone coming down them. When the front door closed behind him, Harry jumped up in shock, and found himself on his feet and facing the front door before he had even realized what had happened. There, standing in pajamas, was Dudley, with a sleepy yet amused smile on his face. "Bit jumpy, aren't you Potter?"

"What are you doing out here?" Harry hissed.

"I'd be asleep if you would stop screaming. What's wrong you?" Dudley asked, looking at Harry like he was infected with some deadly disease.

"Nothing," Harry said dismissively.

"Didn't sound like nothing," Dudley sneered. "What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?"

"You wouldn't understand," Harry said angrily. After everything that Harry had endured recently, did Dudley really have to torment him too?

"Oh yeah Potter?" Dudley looked down at the small golden locket that Harry was holding. "What's with the necklace?"

Harry looked down at the locket. "Like I said, it's nothing you'd understand. You haven't got the brains."

Dudley moved forward off the front porch menacingly. "You better not call me dumb if you know what's good for you Potter."

Harry didn't back away. He knew that staying outside of Dudley's reach was a wise thing to do, but tonight he just couldn't find it within himself to care. He had to worry about how he was going to try and defeat Voldemort, and Dudley thought that the idea of taking a beating from him was frightening? It was almost laughable. "You don't scare me," Harry said defiantly. He steeled himself then for a blow that would likely knock him off his feet, but it didn't come. Instead, Dudley reached out with surprising speed, grabbed the locket out of Harry's hand, and started fiddling with it. "Give that back," Harry said, reaching out to take the locket back.

Unfortunately, Dudley saw it coming and raised it over his head, where Harry couldn't quite reach it. "Nice try. You really want this piece of crap, do you?"

Harry didn't say anything. He knew he had already made a mistake by letting Dudley see how much he wanted the locket back. But he couldn't help it. Dumbledore had died for that locket, and to see Dudley fiddling with it as if it were a worthless trinket was killing him. He was trying to restrain himself, and it was a good thing he didn't have his wand, because otherwise he would have already used it.

"Well, I think I'll just keep this," Dudley said, turning around to head back into the house.

"NO!" Harry yelled. His last bit of restraint snapped, and he found himself flying through the air and crashing into Dudley's back. Dudley, who was unprepared, let go of the locket and went sprawling to the ground. Harry scrambled up quickly, snatching up the locket and pocketing it before Dudley had a chance to stop him.

Dudley picked himself up then, and even in the dim lighting that the streetlights offered, Harry could see had had a bloody lip, although it didn't look to Harry as if he had suffered any serious injury. Dudley wiped the blood from his mouth, and then looked incredulously at Harry, who had never dared to attack him before. "You've had it now. Mum and Dad won't let you stay."

"I don't care," Harry said, his eyes flashing. He pushed angrily past his cousin, who was still so shocked that Harry had attacked him that he didn't make a move to stop him. Harry pounded up the stairs, his mind racing. He had stayed long enough at the Dursleys, and he was done. He quickly gathered up his few possessions in his room, and then apparated away to the Burrow, more than happy to close this chapter of his life once and for all.


End file.
